As is widely known the House of Savoy, after some remarkable successes in the XVII and XVIII centuries ended up leading the struggle for Italian independence and, after the war of 1859 and Garibaldi's expedition, Vittorio Emanuele II became King of Italy in 1861 (Veneto would be added in 1866, Rome in 1871 and Trentino in 1918).

But at the beginning of the XIX century the House, which always used the Salic succession, found itself very thin on male descendants: Vittorio Emanuele I and his brother Carlo Felice never had male children, so the throne devolved to the cadet branch of the Savoia-Carignano, which had a sole male heir, Carlo Alberto, from whom the Kings of Italy are descended.

Now, what if for some accident or illness Carlo Alberto dies before conceiving Vittorio Emanuele II, so before 1819? To whom would the Sardinian throne pass?

Could there be an amendment to the succession statutes enabling the succession to go to one of V.E. I's daughters? They were:
  • Maria Beatrice (1792-1840) married before the POD Francis IV of Modena
  • Maria Theresa (1803-1879) married in 1820 Carlo II of Borbone-Parma
  • Maria Anna (1803-1884) married in 1831 Ferdinand I of Habsburg
  • Maria Cristina (1812-1836) married in 1832 Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
A question to the genealogy experts here: are there other cadet branches of the Savoy family that could have raised a claim to the throne? I think they were all extinguished, but I am not sure about it.

What could be the effects on Italian unification? Francis IV of Modena, a full reactionary as prince consort of Sardinia would not go well with the liberals, on the other hand Austria would love putting one of its client Dukes on or at least beside the Sardinian throne, while France would resent this form of Habsburg encroachment. If Maria Theresa marries Carlo II as iotl, maybe France could support her rights to the throne? It seems a bit late for a succession war, but...
 
So I checked and it seems that the next male line heir would have been from the House of Villafranca (which is a offshoot of carignano). A little distant dynastically but probably not enough so for there to be a succession crisis.
 
So I checked and it seems that the next male line heir would have been from the House of Villafranca (which is a offshoot of carignano). A little distant dynastically but probably not enough so for there to be a succession crisis.

Thanks! It would be Eugenio Emanuele di Savoia-Villafranca-Soissons, right? His father had married morganatically and in otl he was recognized by a Royal Decree only in 1834. In absence of other heirs this could be smoothed over, but i think that the possibility of Carlo Felice choosing instead Francesco IV of Modena is not to be completely discounted, as it was allegedly considered even in our timeline.
 
I've always argued that the Savoy Carignano doesn't shine for the quality of his kings, but the gallery or the sons-in-law of Vittorio Emanuele I is a veritable museum of horrors. Francesco IV of Modena is certainly the worst of a bad lot, and the sad thing is that he's the most likely candidate if no collateral Savoy line can produce a suitable heir (actually I believe that his eldest son of the same name might be chosen: however Francis the Younger would be just 12 years old in 1831, opening the door for a longish regency). Considering that the eldest daughter of Francesco IV married Henry de Chambord, the Gray Dauphin, there must be an unfortunate timeline where the descendants of Francesco IV sit on the throne of France and of Italy: the mind boggles.
The only (minimal) saving grace is that France (and England?) might object to such an increase of Austrian influence in Italy, and force a different choice. Charles II of Borbone-Parma? He was not the sharpest tool on the rack, but he has a son, Robert (who IOTL turned out to be a deep-dyed reactionary and was assassinated in 1854 just five years into his reign, but never mind). There would be an even longer regency, but there might be also the possibility to play a game of musical chairs that gives Parma to Austria when Marie Louise dies.

It looks like that Eugenio Emanuele of Savoy-Soissons is the best default choice, but don't forget that Carlo Felice was very hard to convince and might refuse to issue a Royal Decree recognising him.

Am I too forward in asking what happened to Carlo Alberto? Did he commit suicide in a fit of despondency?
 
I've always argued that the Savoy Carignano doesn't shine for the quality of his kings, but the gallery or the sons-in-law of Vittorio Emanuele I is a veritable museum of horrors.
That's what makes this scenario so funny :closedtongue:.
I was thinking of the way to have something similar to Spain's Carlist wars happen in Sardinia-Piedmont. It would likely not be good for the unification process.

Am I too forward in asking what happened to Carlo Alberto? Did he commit suicide in a fit of despondency?
I hadn't tought about that, but it's a possibility, or he could have caught malaria in Sardinia proper. Finally there can always be a convenient carriage/staircase accident.
 
If you want to get rid of CA, I would suggest that it must be done early, meaning before 1819 when his wife got pregnant (his first son, the future Vittorio Emanuele II, was born on 20 March 1820). CA truly did consider suicide during his short exile at Florence after his removal from the regency (maybe not seriously enough; however his behaviour at the battle of Trocadero where he spearheaded the assault of the French Guards regiments may be identified as an unconscious search for death) but by that time he had already sired an heir. According to some (minimal) research I've done, Carlo Felice did consider very seriously removing him from the succession line, but his replacement was to be his infant son. Apparently this notion was unacceptable to the European powers: even Metternich was against it, being satisfied with CA renouncing his aberration and proving his faith to the ideals of the Restoration.
 
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